Fe/Y multilayers with various Fe and Y layer thickness were prepared by electron-beam vapor deposition. The effect of the constituent metal layer thickness on the microstructure and magnetic properties of the films was investigated by transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering, X-ray diffraction and vibrating-sample magnetometer. The experimental results showed that a magnetic transformation from the ferromagnetic to superparamagnetic state in the iron layers occurred with decreasing Fe layer thickness to 1.4 nm in the Fe/Y multilayers. The saturation magnetization of the multilayers reduced significantly with decreasing Fe layer thickness and increasing Y layer thickness. It was also found that the Y layer can grow in an f.c.c. structure when its thickness was less than 11 nm in the Fe/Y multilayers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.